Paleo success story

As I alluded to in the previous post, I took a leap of faith with this challenge - not knowing if it would succeed by the definition of "losing 5% bodyfat and normalized cholesterol numbers in 30 days" as what seems to happen with most people who do paleo challenges. We followed the Whole30 template but added penalties if anyone ate grains, legumes, processed foods, alcohol, etc. To some it seemed overwhelming to change SO MUCH, but those who took on the challenge were open minded and jumped in feet first with me.

I had an athlete - Myra - who struggled early. At the start of the challenge I gave the okay to Lara bars as snacks in an emergency, which she interpreted to half a box of Lara bars when hungry. This was usually chased with a handful.. and another handful.. and another, then half the bag of almonds were mysteriously gone. She did well the first week, but the next few were rough. We communicated a lot via email and I checked out her food log of a couple weeks to see the documentation of the Larabar/almond binges. We talked about her living/shopping situation (boyfriend not paleo and could live on Lucky Charms and Pringles *which I've tried - delicious! *sigh*), foods she liked/disliked, and what new foods to try. She was eating a lot of chicken and veggies, but light meals (in calories/nutrients/fat) early and mid day led to the late day binges. Slowly got her onto avocados, coconut milk, and protein other than chicken breasts and she started feeling better. I think a direct quote is "1,000% better".

One thing I couldn't get her to do is eat whole eggs instead of liquid eggs due to a history (and fear) of high cholesterol in her family. She was able to kick the Larabar and almonds habit so I gave her a break. And what also helped was being more strict. She'd done a challenge before at another box that was pretty lax with the instructions, delivery, and follow up and didn't see much success. A draw with ours was the penalties, but that just led to substituting something not allowed (ex. Snickers) with something that was allowed (Lara bars), and going overboard. So I put her on Zone (10C, 12P, 35F). I wouldn't (and didn't) suggest this for anyone else, but she has done challenges before and I felt she needed more guidance and more structure and would be able to follow it without getting too OCD.

She wasn't able to attend the pot luck, but I received an email from her the Monday after with !!!!!!! as the subject line. I couldn't tell if she was yelling at me or excited until I opened and read the email with the following results.

Weight - 141.6 -> 132.6 (down 9 lbs)

She's a runner and injured her foot and hasn't been able to keep up with her normal running routine, so this weight loss (mostly in the last 3-4 weeks) was after going from 20-30 miles a week to 0-3 miles.

Additionally, she had some some blood work done and had these results to share comparing her lipid profiles from 2009 to 2011:


Cholesterol - 222 --> 217 (<200)
HDL - 71 --> 105 (>40)
Chol, non HDL - 151 --> 112 (<150)
Triglyceride - 82 --> 30
LDL - 135 --> 106


I would say it's better represented in interpretive dance, but all I have is a graph.




In summary -
Overall cholesterol DOWN (5)
HDL (good!) UP (34)
Non HDL, chol DOWN (39)
Triglyceride DOWN (52)
LDL (bad!) DOWN (29)


This is from eliminating grains/dairy/gluten/legumes/added sugar, and eating red meat, chicken, fish, nuts, avocados, and almost a can of full-fat coconut milk a day. Oh, and her doctor suggested she eat a diet low in fat to get her total cholesterol number down.

I know results vary from person to person and things might've been different if she ate whole eggs, but that's left to speculation and for her to (maybe) try during another challenge. In the meantime, I know she's happy with these results.

Here's Myra on her way to a deadlift PR. Congrats on all your success!

Paleo challenge wrap up - what we learned

It was back on January 24th, what seems like AGES ago, that a few members of CrossFit Capitol Hill started this 7 week paleo challenge. The week before they nervously looked over the document I passed out that outlined the program - allowable foods (meats, veggies, healthy fats, some nuts and seeds, some fruit, no processed food/sugar) as well as the penalties for eating sugar (100 burpees), legumes (150 lunges), dairy (100 push ups), grains (200 sit ups), alcohol (25 4-count flutter kicks for every 2oz), and processed food (100 squats). Many took the document - curious of the challenge - but ultimately decided there was "no way" they could give up X for seven weeks. Some might've said "no effing way", but I digress.

There were five hearty souls that joined me on the challenge that seemed like it would never end!! Those first few weeks were tough with a lot of questions or text messages (while at the grocery store) asking if X was allowed. I started the blog early on to help field some questions about calcium, fat (so much!), and to host a link to some paleo approved recipes to keep us sane. I also posted a video of my kitchen so they could see what it looked like for me to be paleo. And, yes, I owned up to having some non-paleo foods on hand.

Throughout the challenge I would ask them at CrossFit how they were feeling. In addition to changing how they were eating I wanted them to keep track of stress levels (low, med, high), do mobility work, get at least 8+ hours of sleep, and take fish oil. The challenge wasn't just about eating, but overall health. Early feedback was that they were feeling good. There was a mix of occupations, but even if school or working late kept them from getting at least 6 hours of sleep, they were feeling well rested and not dragging all day.

One vice for many was the addiction to nuts and nutbutters. Everyone had different goals (some weight loss), so they switched to using coconut oil for cooking and adding avocados or guacamole to meals. General consensus was it made a HUGE difference. They couldn't trust themselves to just a handful of nuts, so getting it out of the house and switching to a different fat source made the difference.

It's amazing how quickly the 7 weeks went by. We ended with a paleo pot luck and dined on the bacon explosion (paleo bbq sauce), baked chicken, pad thai, sweet potato cubes, stuffed cabbage, veggies and guac, fruit, and ended with some primal pumpkin pie and coconut butter bark. No one left hungry, that's for sure!

We talked about the ups/downs of the challenge and if they noticed any changes. I think the big eye opener for everyone was how much extra (sugar, soy, wheat, etc) is added to foods. They started to read labels for ingredients as well as where the food came from. Additionally, they did notice some weight loss (I didn't make a big deal about the scale), but said clothes were feeling and fitting better. Sleep had improved, and if they weren't getting at least 8 hours, they were feeling well rested and not groggy during the day. It was also a chance to try new foods and different recipes. And even if it took awhile, the normal sugar cravings and hunger pangs were gone.

I think the addition of the blog and recipe page was a big help so we could talk on the fly about what worked/what didn't and what recipes we recommended. I will keep it going add recipes and posts from time to time. At this point, some people have gone off the challenge for a few cheat meals or treats, but most have said they will go back to it at least 80/20. And the decision was made post-cheat when I heard rumblings of "not feeling well" after the meal. Hmm...

I'd like to thank everyone who participated. It was a huge leap of faith for our first go at it, and even if we didn't have huge results or epic weight loss stories from everyone, I think it was still a success. We learned more about ourselves and our addiction to certain foods, and became more knowledgeable about what we eat. Now go educate others!!


Next post will be about a BIG success story from one of the participants - stay tuned! You don't want to miss it!